1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for monitoring apparatuses in a production factory including many manufacturing apparatuses, and particularly relates to a system for monitoring operation statuses of the manufacturing apparatuses and/or for monitoring qualities of products manufactured by the manufacturing apparatuses.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a production factory for manufacturing semiconductor chips, structures of products have been combined and integrated to a higher extent in accordance with integration of the semiconductor chips, and improvement of functions. For such combination and integration, a process for producing such products are divided into many steps, in which manufacturing apparatuses are arranged and operated to produce the products. In such a production factory, it is necessary to monitor the steps for improving the manufacturing efficiency, and enhancing the quality control. Many systems have been available for executing such monitoring and controlling the steps.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-55086 has disclosed a graphics display system aimed at fast operation of a monitor system, sharing of information and improvement in expandability. This system displays information relating to a plant on a monitor for executing the monitoring and control of the plant. This system includes an online server for controlling online information such as a status of the plant, an facility server for controlling information relating to facilities such as types and arrangements of plant facilities, a graphics server for controlling graphics information such as symbols and color definitions for displaying the statuses of plant and facilities in graphics, and a graphics server for integrating data controlled by the respective database servers into a single kind of information.
According to this system, databases and processing functions can be distributed, and the databases can be object-oriented. Further, the graphics server can achieve unified operation of the databases. Therefore, high-speed technology of the database can be fully used, and transparency of the data can be achieved. Consequently, fast processing and effective use of computer resources can be achieved, and expandability of the system, sharing of the information and improvement of the reliability can be achieved.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-55291 has disclosed a maintenance system, which allows easy input and renewal of maintenance information of a plant, and is connected to maintenance-target facilities in all the world. This system is formed of the maintenance-target devices and a WWW server. The maintenance-target facilities include an intelligent alarm circuit for performing self-diagnostics, a message preparing circuit for producing a message based on results of the self-diagnostics by the intelligent alarm circuit, and a message sending circuit for sending the message thus prepared on the Internet. The WWW server includes a message receiving circuit for receiving the message sent from the maintenance-target facilities, a message decoding circuit for decoding the received message, a message processing circuit for processing the decoded message, and an information storing circuit for storing information required for the maintenance of the maintenance-target facilities. In this system, the WWW server calls out a maintenance terminal in response to the message sent from the maintenance-target facilities, and the called maintenance terminal executes the maintenance of the maintenance-target facilities on the Internet with reference to the message and the maintenance information stored in the WWW server.
According to this system, the maintenance-target facilities perform the self-diagnostics, and quickly send a message based on the results of diagnostics on the Internet. The WWW server receiving the message on the Internet can operate the maintenance terminal to execute quickly the appropriate maintenance processing based on contents of the message. Via the maintenance terminal, entry of the maintenance information and renewal of the maintenance information on the WWW server side can be easily executed. Since connections to the maintenance-target device in all the world are performed on the Internet, communication costs can be lower than those of the communication on a public network.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-99542 has disclosed a system, in which a user himself or herself can easily extract, process and/or display data kept in a database and required by the user. This system includes a setting circuit, which is used for inquiring and extracting the information required by the user from the database, and particularly is used for setting the information to be extracted and a display format thereof, as well as a retrieving circuit for retrieving schema definition information based on the extracted information, a preparing circuit for preparing an inquiry statement, changing circuit for changing the schema when the data required by the user cannot be obtained from the database, and a display circuit for displaying the data obtained in response to the inquiry in the display format set by the setting circuit.
According to this system, when the user determines the item to be extracted from the database, the display format and the conditions, the retrieving circuit retrieves the schema definition information based on the information thus set. The preparing circuit prepares the inquiry statement by using the information of the data structure in the database obtained by the retrieval. The display circuit formats and displays the information extracted from the database in the display format set by the user. Thereby, the user using the database of, e.g., production results data including huge time-series data can easily extract, process and display the data required by the user himself/herself.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-345213 has disclosed a system, in which past detailed process data can be stored in a format facilitating later utilization, and loads on computers can be reduced. This system includes a process computer, an application server, which executes preprocessing by dividing the process data stored in the process computer into data groups each having an appropriate amount of data and adding key information, and controls the extraction of the process data from the database server in accordance with the request applied from a client terminal, a database server for building the database based on the preprocessed process data, and the client terminal for accessing the application server and receiving the process data therefrom.
According to this system, all the process data is preprocessed into forms facilitating later utilization. By storing all the process data in this manner, various detailed data determined at the time of manufacturing of the products can be extracted and referred to, e.g., when the problem arises in quality of shipped products. Consequently, such a problem in quality can be clearly and properly diagnosed.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 6-266634 discloses a system, which can appropriately execute total and preventive maintenance on a huge number of terminal devices. This system includes the plurality of terminal devices and a monitoring device for performing centralized monitoring of the plurality of terminal devices. The terminal device includes a detecting circuit for detecting input of information and occurrence of an abnormality based on the input information, and a sending circuit for successively sending the detected information to the monitoring device in time sequence. The monitoring device includes a predicting circuit, which performs statistical processing on the information sent in time sequence from the plurality of terminal devices, and thereby predicts the degree of occurrence of the abnormality and the degree of abnormal maintenance emergency, and a control circuit for controlling the maintenance of the plurality of terminal devices.
According to this system, each terminal device detects the input of information and the occurrence of the abnormality based on this input of the information, and the detected information is successively sent to the monitoring device in time sequence. The monitoring device compiles the detected information sent from the plurality of terminal devices in time sequence, and performs the statistical processing on the same. In this processing, the predicting circuit predicts the degree of occurrence of the abnormality and the degree of emergency of the abnormal maintenance for each terminal device, and the control circuit controls the maintenance of the plurality of terminal devices based on the predicted degree of occurrence of the abnormality and the predicted degree of emergency of the abnormal maintenance. Consequently, the total preventive maintenance of the huge number of terminal devices can be appropriately executed.
For monitoring the quality of semiconductor chips manufactured through complicated steps, it is necessary to determine factors such as steps, manufacturing apparatuses in these steps, variations occurring in manufacturing conditions of the manufacturing apparatus with time, differences in manufacturing conditions between the plurality of manufacturing apparatuses arranged in the step, and maintenance statuses in the manufacturing apparatuses. However, neither the foregoing system alone nor the combination of the foregoing systems can appropriately determine such complicated many factors to inform a supervisor or operator of such factors. Consequently, even when quality trouble occurs, a long time is required for determining the factor thereof. Until the factor is determined, it is necessary to stop the manufacturing apparatus, which remarkably lowers the rate of operation of the expensive facilities as well as the productivity.
An object of the invention is to provide a manufacturing line monitoring system, which can easily monitor a large number of manufacturing apparatuses in a manufacturing process formed of the manufacturing apparatuses.
Another object of the invention is to provide a manufacturing line monitoring system, which can appropriately monitor a large number of manufacturing apparatuses in a manufacturing process formed of the manufacturing apparatuses.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a manufacturing line monitoring system, which can easily monitor products manufactured by a large number of manufacturing apparatuses in a manufacturing process formed of the manufacturing apparatuses.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a manufacturing line monitoring system, which can appropriately monitor products manufactured by a large number of manufacturing apparatuses in a manufacturing process formed of the manufacturing apparatuses.
A manufacturing line monitoring system according to the invention monitors a manufacturing process formed of a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses. This system includes collecting means for collecting information from each of the manufacturing apparatuses, first storage means for storing the collected information, first preparing means for preparing first information relating to results of manufacturing by each of the manufacturing apparatuses based on the stored information, second preparing means for preparing second information relating to variations in the results based on the first information, first output means for outputting the first information and the second information in a manner linking the first information and the second information with each other, and first transferring means for transferring alarm information based on one of the first information and the second information.
Preferably, the manufacturing line monitoring system according to the invention further includes third preparing means for preparing third information relating to differences in results between the manufacturing apparatuses based on the first information. The first output means includes means for outputting the first information, the second information and the third information in a manner linking the second information and the third information with each other.
More preferably, the manufacturing line monitoring system according to the invention includes second storage means for storing maintenance schedule information relating to maintenance schedules of the respective manufacturing apparatuses, fourth preparing means for preparing fourth information relating to results of maintenance of the respective manufacturing apparatuses based on the stored information, and second output means for outputting the maintenance schedule information and the fourth information in a manner linking the maintenance schedule information and the fourth information with each other.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.